


A Progression of Events

by Marijke



Category: Tangled (2010), Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Reference to kidnapping, Rudiger is there, Slow "Redemption", post-Season 1, the black rocks, varian is in jail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-03-14 22:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13599720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marijke/pseuds/Marijke
Summary: Queen Arianna pays a few visits to the Corona prison, seeking answers, and over time she has a few conversations with the boy who kidnapped her.Maybe she has a way to help him, maybe she doesn't, but something will certainly come from a couple heart to hearts.---This is going to be a multi-chapter fic, but each section of the story is designed to read as a complete fic within its chapter. If this is not the case, I'll say so in the author's notes.





	1. Arianna Visits

In a different kingdom, one might question why the prison was so close to the castle since, surely, that’d cause trouble at some point, but this was Corona, and at this moment Queen Arianna felt grateful for the close proximity. It made it easier for her to pass subtly into the cell-block and avoid the pomp and circumstance of a public appearance.

Ariana bore a heavy cloak around her shoulder, and it hid her face and noble dress from the criminals as she walked through the dungeons. She couldn’t afford being recognized. Not yet. If the criminals caused too much of a ruckus, the guards would insist she leave for her own safety. She could always order them away, as Queen, but her conviction was already so faint that she feared any obstacle would turn her around.

As it was, she made it safely to her destination, without leers or a riot or overprotective guards. Giving a quick glance around, Arianna dropped her hood once she confirmed there was no one else around. She stared into the dark (but dry, clean, perfectly habitable) cell, and her eyes fell on the boy behind the bars. He didn’t look back; his head turned to look out the narrow window.

“Varian,” she addressed him.

He didn’t respond.

More softly, she repeated, “Varian.”

At that he turned his head slowly away from the windows and his eyes tracked across the room until they settled on hers. Still, he didn’t speak.

Varian was barely lit by the torch outside his cell. He hadn’t been in jail long, so he hadn’t paled any from lack of sun, but the bags under his eyes had grown. Immediately, Arianna’s brain began to whir. There’s not much else to do in the dungeons than pace, sleep, and eat, and if the unfinished trays by the door were any indication, Varian had been doing too much of the first and not enough of the second and third.

If he wasn’t sleeping or eating, he was deteriorating, and all of Corona had regretfully learned what happened when Varian had a poor idea. Poor, Adrianna added mentally, in its intent and execution. Varian’s skill with alchemy and mechanics was impressive regardless of one’s opinion on him. Arianna wasn’t certain what he could be getting up to from inside of a prison cell, but she grew cautious nonetheless.

Of course, her words came out wrong. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, your _highness_ ,” Varian replied, “I was shackled and thrown in here.”

Arianna paused. He was right, but she shook her head, “I misspoke. What have you been doing down here?”

“Rotting,” he said, and he looked back out the window. 

In the most regal manner she could manage, Arianna replied, “You’ve been down here three days.”

“Strawberries rot in two.” Varian shrugged and reached for something behind his cot. For a moment Arianna froze up, but then she saw some dirty fur and realized, somehow, Rudiger had made his way into the cell with Varian. Varian himself kept talking. “Of course, that could potentially be extended with some kind of preservative, or cooling device. I suppose it I had-” he stopped. “I don’t.”

Arianna didn’t follow, so she asked, “You don’t what?”

“I don’t have anything here. Can’t preserve any strawberries. 

“I don’t believe you have any strawberries to preserve, Varian.” Arianna still didn’t follow. She was forgetting why she’d come down here.

Varian threw his hands up. “Of course not! I could go buy some, but of course first I’d need to be able to go shopping, and I don’t see any farm stands in your dark, damp, and dreary prison-” Arianna was 95% certain the prison was not damp. Corona wasn’t inhumane to its prisoners, despite how awful many of them seemed to be- oh he wasn’t done- “and I’d need to get money from dad, who, oh yeah, everyone left trapped inside impenetrable rock, and then strawberries would need to be in season, and the rocks destroyed my weather manipulator prototype! So no, I’m not-”

“You were attempting to control weather?” Arianna was very disconcerted with that. Disconcerting. She came down to talk with him about something related to that. 

“I was attempting, but Dad always said it was ‘too dangerous’.” He paused, then whispered, “I was so close. I could’ve saved the crops last year. I could’ve done it, but you and your family-”

Arianna remembered her question, and she decided that he was going to start spiralling if she didn’t act soon.  

“Varian!” she interrupted.

He fell silent as though he had never expected anyone to be listening.

After a moment of silence passed between them, she steeled her nerves and addressed him. “Varian, why did you kidnap me?”

There was no immediate response. He blinked a few times, and Rudiger hopped up onto the cot. When he finally spoke, his voice was very level but confused. “I had to get Rapunzel to come to Old Corona and save my Dad.”

“Varian,” Arianna replied, his name sounding peculiar from how many times she’d repeated it, “why didn’t you just ask Rapunzel to come? She told me before she left that you had been friends. 

Varian looked out the window suddenly. “She left?”

“Corona.”

“... she’s gone.”

Arianna wasn’t certain why his voice got quieter and wavered slightly, so she chose to ignore it. She had to, for her own sake, to continue this conversation. Prompting again, Arianna said, “She said that she’d promised to help you.”

“She had.” Varian’s mouth twitched into a sneer. 

“And?”

Clenching his fists, Varian bit out, “When I came for help, she refused me.”

Arianna remembered that part of the story. She also remember the part where Rapunzel was dealing with a deadly snow storm threatening all of Corona. “You should’ve come back. Corona was enduring the worst storm in many, many years, and she was under a lot of stress-”

Varian inhaled sharply “My dad was being trapped in rocks that _your_ kingdom was ignoring.” 

“Your father is very important to you,” Arianna cautioned, “but she had thousands of citizens to think about. Many were trying to evacuate, and those who weren’t were sheltered in the castl-”

Varian punched his cot, and Rudiger startled. Varian whipped his glare to Arianna and shouted, “She said nothing as they threw me back into that blizzard! Everyone else treated me like a criminal who’d attacked the princess after that. No one in Corona wanted to help.” He kicked the ground. “I shouldn’t have to keep giving you chances if no one gives me any.”

Arianna almost folded her arms, but she decided that’d seem less authoritative than she was going for.  “I gave you chances, even while you were building that dreadful automaton.”

“I’d already kidnapped you. There was nothing for me past this dungeon at that point.” He sighed and leaned against the wall. “I just-” he hit his head. “Ow.”

“Careful. Your head’s not harder than stone.”

“I know that…” Varian rubbed his head, and Rudiger climbed onto Varian’s lap. “I thought if I kidnapped you, Rapunzel would finally save my dad, and I’d-” he cut himself off. “Dad would be proud.” 

Arianna fought several urges at once. The first was to groan, the second was to laugh, and she settled on the third: “Your father was a loyal citizen. You attempted regicide.”

“That wasn't what I wanted!" Varian ran a hand through his hair. "It only came to that because I failed every single other time, and then you didn't care! No one did" He sighed. "And I thought that if I killed you, I would finally succeed at something. Then Dad would be proud.”

Although she wasn’t certain why, Arianna felt a pit in her stomach. “You haven’t had any visitors besides me, have you?”

“Some of the guards came to gawk and the idiot brainiac, but other than that, no.”

“Would your father have visited you here?”

Again, silence befell the pair. Varian glanced between his window and the queen, eventually settling on the scenic view. Varian’s narrow window was starting to shine with glorious colors of sunset, and in the dynamic light, Varian’s eyes seemed larger but more sunken, like those of a starved child.

Arianna knew that she’d have to head back to the castle for dinner soon. She couldn’t afford to wait forever for this boy to answer, and so after a minute of silence passed, she offered, “I’m sorry you were thrown out.”

Varian glance back at her. “Are you expecting me to say sorry back?”

She didn’t deign to give a response to that. Instead, she reached out towards his half-emptied trays of food, laying just outside and inside his cell. “You really ought to eat, Varian. We’re not trying to-”

“Don’t touch those!”

Faster than Arianna had ever expected a lethargic, moody teen to move, Varian hopped off the bed, wielding Rudiger on one shoulder, and he swatted her hand away through the bars of his cell. 

Arianna gave him a quizzical look. Then, he eyes caught a string, made of- well, she couldn’t be certain, but her eyes flicked over the cell as she traced an elaborate trap connecting the trays to a loose cinder block above the cell door.

Varian just took a step back and sat back on his cot. “Nothing.” 

Arianna, for her part, simply nodded. And, of course, made a note to warn the guard who’d come to move his food.

She threw her cloak hood back on and exited the prisons, back to her castle and husband, back to wondering where her child was. Back to life.


	2. Arianna Returns

Arianna visited again a little over a week later. She found Varian sitting on his cot and staring out the window, his expression melancholy. At this point, she was fairly certain he was getting paler, but the bags under his eyes were about the same. There wasn’t a stack of trays outside his door (the cinderblock, she noted, had been cemented back into place. In fact, it appeared that all of his cell had been reinforced) so hopefully he’d been eating.

This time, Varian spared her a look before she spoke his name. He seemed a bit confused, and Arianna realized that the thick cloak she wore was still covering her features with its hood. Clearing her throat, she pulled the cowl off her head and locked gaze with Varian.

He scoffed and turned away. “You’re back.”

“I’m back,” she echoed.

His shoulders tensed a little, and a half-hearted sneer crept onto his face. “You finally decided on my execution date?” Absently, he reached to his side and started feeling the air for something racoon sized, but he found nothing and gave up. Rudiger must have left the cell somehow.

Arianna used all of her regal poise not to balk. “Your execution?”

“Of course,” Varian said, and he pulled his legs up beside him onto the cot. “I won’t go quietly, but I’d like to know when you’re going to try.”

“Varian…”

“Look, your highness, I’m not suddenly going to respect your authority just ‘cause you locked me in here. I’m not going to lay down and die easily. I’m not gonna play your part of repentful criminal. I’m right; I know I’m-”

Arianna cut him off, “You’re not being executed, Varian.”

Varian gave her a skeptical look. “Right. Who’s orders?”

“The King’s.”

Varian rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. Who’s orders?”

Pursing her lips, Arianna answered, “Rapunzel asked him not to hurt you.”

“Aha!” Varian hopped off the cot. “He kept so many things from her. Why would he start caring what she thinks? Why would he start now?” He strode towards Arianna and gripped the cell bars, which creaked as he leaned against them.

“He just wanted to protect h-”

“Besides, who’s to say she won’t change her mind?” Varian leaned back, but he didn’t let go of the bars. “Even if what you said last time is true, and she really did consider me her friend, I can’t know for certain it won’t be easier for her, for Corona to just kill me off.”

Arianna took a step away from the cell, uncertain how he’d react to her next statement. “It’s also by my orders.”

Varian let go of the bars, deflating a little. Huh, he was a little more muted than she’d expected. “Why?” he asked.

“Because you’re fourteen.” Arianna punctuated her statement with a slight nod.

Varian didn’t seem to think it was over, though. “I tried to kill you!” he furrowed his eyebrows and raised his voice, hisfists clenching and slamming down like he was trying to punch the ground. “I-I-I tried to kill Cassie! I actually did kidnap you, extorted Rapunzel, and I turned Rudiger into a beast.”

In the face of his rage, Arianna was quiet and collected. “You’re still fourteen.”

Scoffing, Varian threw his hands up. “What, now everything is okay because I’m a child? Just like Dad said, you can’t take a child to court?”

“No, that’s not it.” Arianna took a deep breath. “You’re fourteen, and your father is gone. It’s not the law to let attempted regicide go unpunished, but it’s also not the law to kill children. Despite what you think, I do know how it feels to lose family- years of grief don’t pass away just because Rapunzel has returned. I know that you’re upset, and it’s my personal opinion that you can be helped-”

“I don’t want your help.” Varian sat back down on the cot and turned away.

Arianna took a slight pause but then continued. “You can be helped, and so it would be a loss to Corona, to your father, for you to waste away in bitterness.”

Varian kept staring out the window. He stroked the cot beside him, searching for Rudiger again, but flinched as his hand met the wood and a splinter embedded itself into his forefinger. Arianna chose to comment as he struggled a moment to pull it out before giving up with a groan.

Turning back to the Queen, Varian composed himself and quirked an eyebrow. “What if I’m flourishing in bitterness?”

This time, Arianna scoffed. “You can’t flourish in bitterness.”

“What if I’m driven by these emotions and this hate I feel, and as a result become more productive and successful?” Varian leaned back on his cot, a smug expressive gracing his face.

“The guards tell me you spent 14 hours counting the imperfections in the cell wall stones.

Varian sputtered and said, “W-well, there’s nothing else to do in here!”

Arianna folded her arms. “You’re bored. You’re not doing anything in prison.” She flickered her gaze over his face, analyzing his features. Varian was doing his best to be unreadable, but from his slightly furrowed eyebrows, pressed lips and- was that a cut on his cheek? How did that get there? It was jagged and recent, but just hidden enough by his hair that she hadn’t noticed before. Carefully, she asked, “What happened to your cheek?”

“Nothing.” Varian brought his legs up onto the cot again.

“Did one of the guards do that?” Arianna asked, crafting her voice as sternly as she could.

“No,” Varian rolled his eyes. “It only took getting thrown in prison for people not to manhandle me.” He let out a sigh and looked away from her again.

Arianna didn’t exactly find his assessment to be a fair one, but she couldn’t think of what he’d been referring to so she let it slide. “How did it happen, then? All of your… magical ingredients and beakers were confiscated when you were arrested, and nothing’s been given to you since then.”

“You’re right.”

“About what?”

“There’s absolutely nothing in this cell.” Varian leaned back and banged his head against the wall. “Ow.”

Watching his mild clumsiness, Arianna tendered a guess, “... did you hurt yourself trying to escape?”

“Not exactly.”

Arianna let her mind theorize for a moment as she scoured the cell for clues. The walls had no obvious blood stains, and there were no trinkets lying around. The Queen spared a moment to think about Rudiger, then decided that the little raccoon’s claws were too close together to make a singular scratch. The two unusual pieces of information Arianna did pick up was the thin scratch marks, approximating letters, on the wall, and a small object hidden in the pocket of Varian’s apron.

Clearing her throat, Arianna asked, “What’s in your pocket?”

Varian raised his hand towards the pocket but faltered, and his hand hung in the air a few moments before reaching in and pulling out a thumb-sized rock with a craggly tip.

Arianna hummed. “Were you writing on the wall?”

“I was trying,” Varian said, then he scowled. “But then it broke, and I was trying to sharpen it on the bars and-”

“You hit yourself in the face.”

Varian didn’t respond, which was enough of an answer for Arianna.

She leaned over slightly to read more easily what he’d been writing. “A series of equations- what is this for?”

“I was trying to list out all the combinations which reacted poorly or not at all to the rocks. To keep myself from making repeat experiments.” He rubbed his thumb over the words. “Of course, I’d need access to the rocks to continue experiments.”

“You’re still looking for a-”

“Is my Dad’s still stuck in a giant rock?” Varian rolled his eyes. “Then yeah.”

Arianna thought about Rapunzel, out in the world and looking for the same answers as this teenage boy, who himself was locked in a cell. Something told her that Rapunzel had a far better chance. “Varian,” she offered, “Rapunzel is out there looking for a way to help your father, and with her hair and her experience, I’m sure she’ll find a way to help him.”

“That’s not good enough, your highness.” Varian flopped down on his cot.

“Why not?”

“I have to save him. He’s my Dad. I have to be the one to-”

“To make him proud?” Arianna interrupted. She was almost certain that wasn’t what he was going to say, but she was just as certain that’s what he meant. As silence fell, she saw him deflate a little into the bed, and his eyes closed. The guards had told her that he hadn’t been sleeping enough, and she felt the urge to throw a blanket on him. She suppressed it (since she didn’t have a blanket and also was Queen) and stayed on her side of the cell bars.

He curled up slowly and faced the wall, and she let out a sigh. “Va-”

Varian had begun snoring.

Arianna took that as her cue to leave, and as she threw her hood back on over her hair, she made a mental note to figure out if there was any spare chalk around the castle. She quickly amended her note: first check if chalk is flammable.


	3. Two Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slightly different this time: we get a glimpse at what Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Eugene are up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has the most "incomplete" ending of any of them yet, but I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger.

In a far, far off land, Rapunzel perched on a warm rock in the middle of a glade. Eugene slept on the ground by her side- he’d had the last watch the night before- and Cassandra paced around the clearing, keeping an eye on Rapunzel but mostly minding her own business. Rapunzel, for her part, was holding a letter out in front of her and scanning the word quizzically. 

“Dear Rapunzel,” it read. 

“I’m glad to hear you’re faring well on your travels, even if there were more bears than you expected. Did Eugene ever recover his boot? If not, I hope you were able to find a suitable replacement. Your itinerary lends itself to a lot of walking.

I wish you would write more often. I’m glad that you’re exploring the world, even if your father and I are quite nervous about it, but I wish I knew with more certainty you hadn’t been eaten by wolves. Your last letter was almost a month ago. You can’t imagine the relief I felt when I saw a letter with your handwriting come from the courier.

Your father and I have been fine. Life is much like before you returned but a little bit better. Many of the townsfolk miss you, but they keep your joyful spirit present in Corona.

I do have to ask- do you still find yourself pursued by the black rocks? I tell you this not to concern you, but to update you: they haven’t ceased growing in your absence. We have been moving people around, particularly those on the mainland, to avoid any other cases like Quirin.

Regarding Varian, since you’ve asked, I believe he’s improving, if just a little. I can’t provide concrete examples as evidence, but my intuition leads me to believe that’s the case. I have visited him twice now, and I believe I shall go again soon. He talks more than I’d expected, and over our conversations it seems almost like he’s warming up to me. I’m not certain how I feel about that. 

Please, Rapunzel, in your next letter, tell me where to send my correspondence so that it can reach you. I don’t want a repeat of the Lovole incident. 

As always, I love you with all of my heart, and I hope to see you soon.

Your mother,  
Queen Arianna” 

Rapunzel read through the letter three times, four times, her eyes gliding peacefully each time until the jarring paragraph about Varian stopped her in her tracks. Despite her desire to help him, Rapunzel didn’t trust him, and she didn’t trust his intentions. 

Reaching gently into Eugene’s bag, she pulled out a pen and a piece of parchment from under her sleeping boyfriend. He didn’t stir, which she was grateful for. He looked so peaceful…

Rapunzel began to craft her response.

“Dear Mom,

I hardly know what to address first! Since my last letter, Cassandra and I have come up with another secret handshake. Also, we fought off a plant monster that tried to eat Eugene’s brain. Cass insisted that the plant monster couldn’t find anything to feed on, but I know she’s joking. Don’t worry, everyone ended up fine! 

Regarding the boot and the bears: Eugene has his boot back- the bears didn’t want it that badly- and we’re out of Lovole now. We’re just north of the border, and should stop in a small trading town soon. I’ll mail this letter there, and since we’re running low on supplies, we’ll wait there for your response. 

I try to write as often as I can, but while I’m following the rocks travel is a necessity. The long stretch without communications occured when our scheduled stop was shifted because the rock trail shifted, and the closest established town had been evacuated due to the rocks. From what I heard, everyone was fine, though, so don’t worry.

It’s distressing to hear that the rocks are still cropping up in Corona. I haven’t found the source yet, and I’m still uncertain on my connection to them, otherwise I would come home and help in any way I could.

I have to ask: why are you visiting Varian? I do want to help him, and I am concerned for him. But I am more concerned for you. He kidnapped you and tried to kill you. Are you sure you’re okay to talk with him? I’m sure Stan or Pete would be happy to. Pete did like the cookies Varian baked, so maybe they’d be able to bond over baking.

I hope to talk with you soon, Mom. I love you.

Your daughter,  
Rapunzel”

Rapunzel blew over the letter to dry the ink before tucking it back into Eugene’s bag and hopping off the rock. She waltzed her way over to Cassandra. 

When Cassandra realized Rapunzel was approaching, she stopped her pacing and planted her feet firmly into the ground and faced out into the first. She turned back to face Rapunzel and smiled, asking, “Was that from the Queen? I noticed you writing a response.” 

Rapunzel nodded. For a moment, she just stood there, dragging her foot through the dirt to feel it between her toes. “Mom’s doing well.”

“That’s good.” Cassandra looked out to the forest. “What’s bothering you?”

A calm moment passed between them as Rapunzel tried to come up with the words to describe her emotion. She was ambivalent, happy for Varian and terribly worried for her mother, cold from the cool dirt and hot from the sun, excited for her journey and anxious, awfully anxious about what she was leaving behind with every step.

“It’s nothing,” Rapunzel said, though her tone made it clear how serious her concern was, “but Mom started visiting Varian in prison. I’m not sure why.”

Cassandra seemed to ponder this, and waited a short while before asking, “Do you think he’ll try anything?”

“I don’t think he’ll have the opportunity.” Rapunzel shook her head.

Cassandra tendered a guess. “Are you worried her visiting will make him worse?” 

Rapunzel gasped. “I, well, maybe? That could be it. That could very well be it. I mean, he’s so angry, and seeing Mom isn’t going to make him any better. When we left he still thought of my family and me were mocking his pain.” She stepped closer to Cass, nearly resting her head on her friend’s shoulder as she looked down at the ground. “I trust Mom, but I don’t trust Mom to know how to help.”

“Rapunzel-” 

“I mean, maybe it’s just that Mom’s aren’t the most-”

“Rapunzel.” Cassandra cut off her friend as she turned to face Rapunzel and grasped her shoulders. “The Queen, your mother, is a very competent and empathic individual. I can’t know what living with Gothel was like for you, but I’m certain that this is nothing like that. Varian might be in prison, but he knows what the world is like, and he’s- there’s a reason he’s in there.”

Rapunzel took Cassandra’s hands off her shoulder and held them gingerly. “I know…” she trailed off, shifting her gaze to look into the forest. “I wish we could’ve dealt with the rocks before it came to… what it did.” 

“It’s not your fault, Raps,” Cassandra followed Rapunzel’s gaze out, but she didn’t see anything and drifted her sight back to the princess. “We didn’t know how to deal with the rocks.”

“We still don’t.” Rapunzel let go of Cassandra’s hands and stepped towards the forest. Her heart sunk in her chest, and the weight drove her feet into the ground as she walked towards- well, she couldn’t tell what she was walking towards, but it felt important.

“Uh, Raps? What do you mean we don’t? It’s only a temporary solution, but you can take down a few at a time-” 

Rapunzel whispered to the woods. “Mom says the rocks are still growing in Corona.” 

“Oh.” Cassandra jogged a little to catch up with Rapunzel. “Are they getting closer to the castle?” 

“She didn’t say…”

Cassandra put a hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder. “As much as I wouldn’t mind leaving Eugene behind, we shouldn’t wander too far if we don’t want bears to get him. He’s sleeping and very suscepting to halbr- bear attacks.” 

Rapunzel stopped walking. “You’re right- you’re right.”

“Were you walking towards something?” 

“I don’t- I don’t know. It felt like I was.” Rapunzel looked out into the forest, and she strained her eyes in an attempt to see through the leaves. “If I asked you to watch Eugene while I kept walking, would you?”

Cassandra let out a sigh. “Would you be safe?” 

“I can take care of myself.”

A moment passed, then Cassandra said, “Let’s wake Eugene up and follow this feeling. He can nap once your ominous feeling passes.”

Rapunzel shook her head. “No, no, you should let him sleep-”

“We’re in this together, Raps.” Cassandra looked out to the forest. “Although I have to ask; your ominous feeling wouldn’t happen to be coming from the slowly growing moon rock just through the trees.”

Rapunzel leaned over to see from Cassandra’s point of view, and through the trees she made out the dark blue spikes, barely breaking the ground. Rapunzel let out a quiet, nervous groan. “Probably,” she said. “I didn’t know they could follow this far.” 

“Let’s go wake Eugene.”


	4. A Present

When Queen Arianna made her fourth visit to the dungeons, people had begun to recognize her heavy cloak.Only the guards knew who was under the cloak, but as she passed by the few occupied cells in the same section as Varian, she heard whisperings and different assumptions. 

“Maybe they’re a new executioner?”  
“I’d say detective.”  
“Well, they sure haven’t visited me.”

Arianna ignored them as best as she could (which was quite well, since she’d been trained to keep her poise since she was a child) and continued on her way to Varian. She gripped a package tightly in her hands and tried not to think too much about why she was bringing it. 

When she arrived at the cell, Varian was looking out the window. He’d somehow crafted a stool out of several trays and used that to pull himself up to look out the window just a little too tall for his 14 year old self. Rudiger was back, perched on his shoulders, and Arianna felt a peculiar, happy emotion. She wasn’t sure why. 

She dropped her hood and cleared her throat. “Varian?”

Varian fell off his stool and tumbled to the ground in surprise. Somehow, Rudiger remained on his shoulders, but the raccoon looked decidedly miffed.

Queen Arianna whispered, “Oh dear-” then, more audibly- “are you alright?”

“You’re back!” Varian shouted, confused, from the floor. 

“Yes, I- you’re on the floor.” 

Varian stood up quickly and put Rudiger on the cot. “Not anymore. I thought you’d given up trying to get information out of me after I fell asleep last time you came.”

“You weren’t-” Arianna scanned Varian’s face, looking for bags under his eyes. Sure enough, they were dark and pronounced against his pale skin “-aren’t getting enough sleep. It’s alright, though you ought to sleep more. You could stunt your growth or your brainpower.” 

Varian scoffed. “What are you, my mom?” He pet Rudiger, who simply made a raccoon noise in response.   
Arianna ignored his comment and said, “I’m allowed to be concerned for you.”

“In a ‘concerned I might’ve broken out’ kind of way?” Varian turned away, looking back to the window. “I’m the most dangerous person in Corona.” 

After mulling over that a moment, Arianna said, “I think that would be me, actually.”

Varian glanced over his shoulder. “That doesn’t sound right.” He started counting on his fingers, and for a moment Arianna was confused before he said, “16, 17,18- have you made 18 automatons? And a giant robot suit?” 

“No- I-” Arianna shook her head. “No. But I am the Queen, and I can order the army to do as I please. That’s a lot of power for one person.” 

With a shrug, Varian swivelled around to sit on the cot. “The King can do the same thing, so you’re at best tied. And I would’ve beaten your- I’d hardly have called that an army- assault if Rapunzel hadn’t discovered how to manipulate the rocks.”

Arianna nodded. “Sure, but I once accidentally unleashed a ravenous swarm of multiplying creatures onto Corona that almost ate the kingdom.” She paused. Why had she just said that?

Varian coughed. “You did what?” 

“I- I’m not repeating that.” Arianna shifted her package from one hand to the other, and she listened to the contents within it shift around with quiet clicking. She changed the subject, hoping to move closer to her reason for visiting, “How’s your cheek?”

“My- what? My cheek?” Varian touched his face.

Arianna nodded again. “Yes. You cut it on a piece of rock shortly before I last saw you? The guards tell me it got infected.”

Varian grimace. “Yeah. It got better though. Didn’t leave a scar. The guards took all of the rocks out of my cell after that and made me empty my pockets because they said I could use them as weapons.” 

“You did manage to hurt yourself,” Arianna said matter-of-factly. 

“But now I can’t write anything!” Varian said, screwing his face into a sneer. 

Rudiger, from his place on the cot, cowered slightly. 

Varian gestured to the wall, where little remnants of an equation whirled their way across the stone. “I was really close to finding some kind of new element to use on the rocks- I don’t think it would’ve worked, but it probably would’ve had some kind of mutating property- but the guards thought I was hatching an escape plan and erased it all.” 

“Were you hatching an escape plan?”

“That was on the other wall.” Varian gestured to the wall just above the cot, where Arianna could see surprisingly nice renditions of what appeared to be a boot, a catapult, and Lance holding two objects that looked like cabbages. 

All Arianna could muster was, “Ah.”

“It wasn’t a very good plan.” 

Arianna leaned in to get a better look at the drawing of Lance, but nothing became any more clear. “Cabbages?” 

“Those are sea urchins.”

“Where were you going to get sea urchins?”

“You see, I was going to slowly tear my boot into string-like strips and then ask for new ones because I heard the guards saying there were a bunch of extras, repeat that, dismantle the cot-” Rudiger squeaked “-and turn it into a catapult with the boot string, and launch one of the loose stones through the window. Then I’d climb out and escape.” 

Arianna stared at him.

Varian shrugged in response. “But the guards also removed the loose stone.”

Shaking her head, Arianna prompted, “There were no sea urchins in that plan.” 

“Oh! Right.” Varian pointed outside. “There’s been a bunch of sea urchins washing up on the shore so I was going to use them as weapons.”

“Lance?” 

“He’s fun to draw and I needed a figure that wasn’t me to look less suspicious.” 

Arianna nodded. “Would you say that town has been disrupted by all these sea urchins?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m surprised you haven’t gotten any complaints about them. Although maybe the villagers are just as good as Dad at lying to the King…” Varian looked outside. His eyes glossed over slightly as some memory came to mind, and Arianna was not sure what it was nor was she prepared to sit here while he had a flashback, so she cleared her throat.

“I brought you something,” she said.

That snapped Varian out of whatever trance he was entering. “What?”

“I brought you- here.” Arianna revealed the package. “That’s why I came down here. I thought about it after we last met, but I needed to consult someone on if it was safe to bring down to you.” 

Varian looked at it skeptically. “Is it poison?”

Chuckling quietly, Arianna said, “No. Here.” Kneeling down, she reached into the cell and placed the package down. “I promise it’s safe.”

“I don’t trust prom-”

“Just take it, Varian,” she said. 

For some reason unknown to him, Varian did just as he was told. He crept closer cautiously and grabbed the package off the floor. Holding it in his hands, he tossed it up lightly. “Not liquid, could be explosive- but that clinking suggests otherwise, and you were holding it on your person…” 

Arianna just rolled her eyes as he waged his internal battle over whether to open it. “I can open it if you’d like.”

“No, I got this.” With that, Varian made up his mind and opened the packaging, revealing the pieces of chalk neatly stored inside. Varian gasped, his face flickering quickly between joy and suspicion, and he gingerly touched a piece and became visibly giddy when his finger came back with chalk dust. “This is-”

“Chalk.”

“That’s fantastic! With this I could actually work on-” Varian stopped. “Wait, why are you giving me this?” 

“I didn’t want you cutting yourself on rock.” Arianna shrugged. “It’s not flammable, or dangerous. I checked with several people. I can’t think of a way you could hurt someone with this-”

“I could eat it,” Varian said absentmindedly as he picked up various pieces of chalk. 

“You’re not going to eat the chalk.”

“I’m really not.” Varian pulled out a piece and started writing on the walls. A dusty white line appeared under his utensil, and his grin widened. 

Arianna put on her hood again. “Well, that’s all the reason I came here today. Goodbye, Varian.” She started down the path, but before she could get out of sight of the cell, Varian called out.

“Wait I-” he stopped again.

Arianna looked slowly back at him. “Yes?” 

He looked like the words were being pushed up uncomfortably from his throat, but they came out eventually. “Thank you.” 

He didn’t add anything more, merely retreating from sight, presumably to go write all over the walls.

Arianna smiled and walked away.


	5. Chalk Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this really cool artist at http://fuocogo.tumblr.com/ drew fan art of the last chapter, and I haven't stopped geeking out about it. I got permission to link it in the author's notes, so here it is! 
> 
> http://fuocogo.tumblr.com/post/171433693207/cabbages-a-scene-from-chapter-four-of-a
> 
> Please check the blog out. The art is amazing, and I am blown away.

It took a bit of time, though not more than a few days, to deal with the sea urchins, but once that whole mess was cleared up, Arianna made her way back to the dungeons. 

Her feet were light on the ground; for some reason, her heart had been elated all day. Perhaps it was because Rapunzel’s latest letter had just made its way to the palace, even though the letter itself was highly concerning. Bears, rocks, and whatever that plant monster was–every time news of Rapunzel’s adventures came back to Corona, the anxiety Arianna harbored for her duaghter spiked (though she hid it much better than Frederic.) She loved hearing from her daughter, but the updates made her very, very stressed.

So perhaps the letter was not the cause of her good mood. Arianna couldn’t bring herself to admit that visiting Varian had turned from a morbid curiosity at the boy’s revenge plot to… genuine care. When the thought crossed her mind, she told herself that she cared for all of her citizens, and that it was just nice to see someone recuperating in prison, rather than wallowing in their unfortunate states. 

Arianna pulled her hood lower as she passed the Stabbington brothers. 

Yes, she was just happy that Varian was improving, as happy as she’d be about any prisoner doing so. Perhaps a bit more, because he was a child, and his father was gone (hopefully temporarily), and she knew how hard it was to lose family, and she was missing her daughter-

“Queen Arianna!” 

Before Arianna had quite reached Varian’s cell, she heard him call to her. She couldn’t see him yet, and she wondered how he knew she was there. These visits weren’t exactly scheduled. 

“Varian?” she called back as she stepped into view of the cell. Today, Varian had built another stool, but this time it was made by somehow disassembling his cot and stacking up and rescrewing the pieces in an odd configuration in the middle of the room. He stood on top of it, arm outstretched to reach the ceiling, and Rudiger sat on one of the smaller ledges built into the contraption, napping.

Varian turned to her, and she screamed. His skin was blanched white, his hair likewise, and his clothes had even paled. When Rapunzel had returned after the storm, she’d described the encounter with Ruth in some detail, but Arianna just couldn’t believe that Varian would be a ghost, he was alive just a few days ago! The guards would’ve told her, and nothing in the cell was dangerous, the only element different from other cells was- oh. 

The entire room was covered in chalk. Varian had written equations and chemical make-ups all over the walls, layering over each other, and drawn simple diagrams across the room. The dust had gotten over his clothes, his hair, his raccoon–with a quick glance upwards, Arianna saw that he had begun to write on the ceiling too, hence the makeshift stool. 

Varian hopped down, stumbling a bit as he landed, and asked, “Is everything alright?”

Arianna shook her head, stopped, and nodded. “Fine, everything- you scared me.”

“I scared you?” Varian grinned darkly. “I don’t even have an automaton here.” His expression lightened a tad, but his smile remained. “That thing in the middle’s just the-”

“Cot, I know. You got chalk everywhere. I thought you were a ghost.” Arianna sighed. “I’m glad you’re not, though if you keep building such dangerous things out of trays and cots and- oh, good, you didn’t take apart your boots- other things, you might end up one.”

Varian just scoffed. “It’s fine. I’m careful enough.”

Raising an eyebrow, Arianna just said, “Rapunzel said the first time you met you nearly blew up Old Corona.” 

“Well- I- uh, I’ve gotten better- yeah! Better. At the whole safety thing.” Varian leaned on his cot contraption, a cotraption if you will, and his elbow knocked a screw out of place and sent him, and everything else, to the floor. Rudiger flew off his seat with a strange raccoon hiss and jumped onto the floor.

Arianna took a step towards Varian, reaching out to see if he was alright, but her hand hit a metal bar and she pulled it back towards herself. She settled for asking, “Are you alright?” 

Varian hopped up quickly. “Yep! Fine.” And then he began to rant, “I’ll reconstruct it in a moment, once you’re gone, and make sure that everything is screwed in tighter, though it’s really hard to screw and unscrew screws with other screws but I don’t have a screwdriver, so the screwing screws with screws will have to screw- do! I mean do. It’ll do.” He stared at Arianna. “What were we talking about?” 

“I don’t think your contraption is very safe.” Arianna folded her arms. 

Shrugging, Varian began shuffling the pieces to a back corner. “I’m not tall enough to reach the ceiling on my own, and I’ve run out of wall space.” 

Arianna nodded slowly, then asked, “What have you been writing? This looks… terribly complicated, and you’ve only had the chalk a few days.”

Varian grinned again. “I’m glad you asked. On this right wall,” he gestured, “I began to write out a possible formula for a chemical that my calculations say should react, and there’s only a .57% , gonna stick with that number this time, of it being apocalyptically dangerous.” 

Arianna looked at the wall, held up a finger, opened and closed her mouth, but before she could bring herself to say something, Varian continued.

“Of course, just above it I put another formula, that I’m only about 50% sure will react but probably has no dangerous outcomes. I think the lower one is worth it though, we need some kind of reaction-”

“I think I rather like the second one, Varian,” Arianna said. “Even a one in two hundred chance of the world ending is too great.” 

Varian waved his hand, “Well, I might’ve been exaggerating on the scale It’s probably safe-”

Arianna cut him off. “Would you be alright if I brought someone else down here to look at the other one? To get a second opinion. Chemical make up has never been my forte, but if you think that additional trials would help figure out a solution to these rocks, I can organize for careful, professional scientists to verify and run some of the experiments you’ve planned out.”

Why did she offer that? His experiments hadn’t had any success in the past, even if they’d gotten some… results. He was a prisoner, and could take advantage of this. All in all, this was a very stupid idea, and she’d just blurted it out without thought. Would Frederic ever agree? Rapunzel likely wouldn’t think this was a good idea.

Varian looked bewildered, an expression Arianna hadn’t expected as a response. Anger, maybe. Elation, possibly. Confusion? 

“Why are you trusting me?” he asked.

“You might not have very much common sense, Varian, but you are very smart.” Why did she say that?

Varian seemed to accept that answer, though, and he cautiously asked, “When you say ‘professional scientist’, do you mean Doctor St. Croix?” 

Thinking back to the Science Expo gone wrong, Arianna shook her head. “Cassandra informed me of what happened that day. He may be a smart man, but if he can’t listen to warnings about experiments that aren’t his, he wouldn’t work very well with you. I mean, with your experiments.” 

Varian furrowed his eyebrows, then said, “Then would… whoever you’re thinking of, would they come down here?”

“Likely.”

For some reason, Varian’s shoulders slumped slightly. He turned around at looked out the windows as he sighed, but he didn’t say a word. Rudiger curled a little bit more tightly around his shoulders protectively. 

Arianna filled the silence. “Varian, is everything alright?” She wondered, briefly, if he had thought that he’d be allowed out of the cell to work on the experiments, but she knew she shouldn’t just give him that kind of freedom without at least consulting Frederic as well as the captain of the guard. 

Varian shrugged. “I just don’t know how much anyone would actually want to see me.” 

Suddenly, Arianna remembered their first interaction of this day. He’d called her name… “Am I the only person who’s come to visit you? In all this time?” She knew she’d been the first, but the thought that she was the only one… her heart sank.

Varian nodded, but he didn’t look back to her just yet. “My only family is in a rock, and I don’t really have friends anymore, though if that’s their fault or mine is a topic we’d probably argue about. You’re only here to figure out why I’m… like this.” Now, he sighed and looked back. “I can’t imagine anyone else wanting to come.” 

Arianna wasn’t certain what to say to that. She began slowly, “I want to help you, Varian. I know you don’t want help, and I know you’re angry, but I’m not just here to interrogate you.”

Rolling his eyes, Varian looked away. “When you first visited all you wanted to know was why I kidnapped you.” 

“You answered.” 

Varian nodded.

“I came back.” 

To this, Varian didn’t respond. 

Arianna sighed. “I’ll see if I can get a stool for you. Or perhaps paper. I can’t imagine that’s more dangerous than… whatever it is you’ve done to your cot. You will reassemble it as a bed, right? You do need to sleep. I can’t see any bags under your eyes through all the chalk, but you’ve been bad at that in the past. You are going to sleep, aren’t you?” 

Varian scoffed. “Sure, I’ll figure out how to reassure the bed, mom.” 

Laughing quietly, Arianna asked, “What did you just call me?” 

“Mom, to make fun how much fretting you’re doing,” Varian said as he bgan pick up the pieces to the cot. “Sort of colloquial, but it undermines your authority a little, and I’ve gotta keep up my rebel stance somehow, even if I’m stuck in prison.” 

Arianna nodded slowly. “Makes… sense. A last ditch attempt at rebellion, calling the Queen mom.”

“Last ditch? I’ve got plans. I saw the sea urchins got fixed, but once I figure out how to turn apple cores into a power source you’re done for.” 

Despite the potentially legitimate threats, Varian was smiling, and Ariana couldn’t help but do so as well. She said, “I’ll visit again once I see how the possibility of running your experiments will play out. Until then, please take care of yourself.”

Varian waved his hand and began reassembling the cot into its much less haphazard form of a bed. Rudiger, on his shoulder, seemed pleased with this. 

Arianna walked away, trying not to smile quite as widely as she was.


	6. Another Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another person made awesome art! Check it out on their blog here: http://vikingmera.tumblr.com/post/171534178044/i-really-like-this-fanfiction-about-arianna-and
> 
> My apologies for such a long wait between last chapter and this one. I haven't had time to write much, but I am still excited to work on this story!
> 
> This chapter is another cliffhanger.

Because she’d promised in her last letter, Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra had waited in the small trading town from where they’d sent a letter back to Arianna, but the three had been planning to follow it as soon as a response came. For a week they’d waited impatiently, and every day during the wait Rapunzel and either Eugene or Cassandra had wandered out a little further to find where the black rock pointed, and if it had any companions. 

On the first day, they found nothing of magical note. There was a rather cute family of bunnies that had been displaced by flooding, though, and Rapunzel made it her business to help them get situated in a new burrow.

On the second day, they found a faded note tacked to a tree. “Beware Travellers, Cursed Forest” it read. Rapunzel disregarded it against Cassandra’s advice. 

On the third day, no one would’ve found anything if Eugene hadn’t tripped over the beginnings of another moon rock. Luckily, no damage came to him or his boot, and the rock pointed the way he and Rapunzel were already walking, confirming that their path was true and right. 

On the fourth day, Rapunzel woke up with a nightmare, and the journey started too late to get to new territory. 

On the fifth day, Cassandra found that the Eugene-tripping rock had grown quite large, and Rapunzel found another rock about a mile further. 

On the sixth day, it rained, and Rapunzel and Eugene got lost and took shelter in a small tavern until the storm passed, then travelled back late at night. Cassandra considered yelling at Eugene for giving her such a scare over Rapunzel, but she conceded mentally before doing so that the weather was too dreadful for travel. 

On the seventh day, they found a few rocks close together. Rapunzel was intrigued, but Cassandra was unnerved. If you stood far enough back, you could see the rocks weren’t pointing in the same direction. They were converging. 

Then Arianna’s letter came. 

“Dear Rapunzel,

I hope this letter reaches you, and you haven’t gotten pulled from the trading town for some dangerous purpose. It was concerning but nice to hear from you as always, and I’m glad that you have Cassandra at your side to help keep you safe. 

Were you able to get the supplies you need? I checked on my map of Lovole and that area, and all the towns in the area are rather secluded. Should I send some supplies with my next letter? It would not issue, and I don’t want you going hungry or getting sick from exposure because you can’t find a proper coat or enough to eat. 

I assume you no longer have to worry about the plant monster you briefly mentioned, the one that attempted to eat Eugene’s brain, but just to be safe I would make sure to wash all of your articles of clothing so you’re not trailing seeds. 

Things are well back in Corona. Your father and I are in good health, as are Lance, Pete, Stan, the Captain of the guards, and most of the folks in town. With all the spring pollen, plenty of people are getting little allergies but it’s nothing serious. There was a brief sea urchin infestation, but that was quickly dealt with.

We recently celebrated a small festival in honor of a passing comet. I wish you could’ve been there, but I understand that your journey is important. 

Regarding Varian, I can’t say that I much heeded your advice at all. I’ve continued visiting him, and recently I arranged for him to work with Xavier to find different chemical compounds to experiment on the rocks. I am aware that his methods often end up in explosion, and Xavier and I are taking safety precautions. I genuinely believe letting the boy do some Alchemy will be beneficial to his mental state however, and I will not be dissuaded. 

Where should I next reach you? I assume that you’ll be travelling again since you’ve been staying in one place for a while. If you don’t specify, I’ll send a letter to wherever you send yours from. 

As always, I love you with all of my heart, and I hope to see you soon.

Your mother,  
Queen Arianna” 

Rapunzel read over the letter a few times before placing it into Eugene’s backpack. The spare ink and paper shared the compartment, but she did not reach for them, instead gathering her own things and preparing for the day.

Noticing this, Cassandra said, “I suppose you’re going to be writing later?”

“Later, yes.” Rapunzel nodded. She tied her hair up as quickly as she could and scoured around for her raincoat. It was still a bit wet out, and she didn’t want to be caught in a downpour dropped from tree leaves. She might be fine walking without shoes in mud, but shivering through her wet clothes would not be conducive to travel. 

On the eighth day, Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra packed everything they’d brought with them into their various bags and set out to follow the rocks. Past the warning sign for the cursed forest, past the bunnies, past the Eugene-tripping rock and the other one, all the way to the scattering of rocks Cassandra and Rapunzel had found on the day before. 

Rapunzel kept walking, but Cassandra grabbed her arm. 

“Before we continue,” Cassandra said, drawing out her words carefully, “I’d like to point out that the rocks aren’t parallel. They’re angled inwards slightly.” 

Rapunzel nodded but didn’t quite understand. “Okay?”

“They’re converging. We’re getting closer.” 

Rapunzel smiled at Cassandra warmly. “Cass, we’ve been getting closer with every step we take. There’s no reason to turn back now.”

Nodding slowly, Cassandra replied, “What I mean is we’re getting close. Are you prepared for that?” 

“I’m ready.” Rapunzel gently took her arm back from Cassandra and stared forward on the path. “Are you?” 

From behind the two of them Eugene butt in, “I am! It’ll be nice to get somewhere other than a swamp.” 

“The rocks could be leading to a swamp, Eugene,” Cassandra pointed out, and she started walking, drawing her sword and leading the three down their path. 

The rocks sightings increased and increased steadily until you could hardly go ten feet without seeing on. At first glance, they all seemed to be pointed in one direction, but as time went on it was apparent to Rapunzel and Eugene that they rocks were point in towards something. (Cassandra had a slightly more discerning eye and had always been able to tell).

It took them two days. Camping near the rocks unnerved all three of the travellers, but at least they didn’t have to keep up a fire all night as the rocks glowed constantly around them. The second night Eugene had to wake up Cassandra and Rapunzel during his watch as a rock nearly grew up into the tent, but everyone survived.

On the third day of their travels, they reached a house reclaimed by the forest. 

It was grown over with vines and weeds, and the front door had been barricaded shut by a mass of cobwebs and spider eggs ever the least squeamish adventurer wouldn’t feel like disturbing. Parts of the walls were speared through by the black rocks, which pointed somewhere inside. 

Cassandra wordlessly kicked in part of a rotted wall and, when it didn’t collapse the building, led the way inside. 

The interior was no less abandoned than the exterior but unlike the exterior it showed no signs of life. It had no cobwebs, no bugs on the walls, no rat squeaking echoing through the halls–in fact, there was no noise at all. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t be in here,” Eugene offered and broke the silence. 

Shaking her head, Rapunzel replied, “We’ve got to figure out why the rocks led me here.” 

“I’m with Eugene for once, Raps,” Cassandra replied. “Something is wrong here. I don’t hear anything.”

“The woodland creatures were probably scared off,” Rapunzel replied. 

Cassandra didn’t like that answer. “And the plants? Why aren’t the plants coming inside?” 

Sure enough, all the vines stayed outside, and no moss or dandelions had peaked up through the floorboards. The inside of the house was lifeless save for the three adventurers. In fact, as they listened closely, they realized that they couldn’t hear the life outside the cottage either. 

Eugene cleared his throat, “I’m in favor of getting out.”

Rapunzel shook her head again, “No, we’re almost there. It’s just… upstairs, I believe. The rocks pointed up.” She looked to see her friends skeptically watching back. “We came all this way.” 

With a sigh, Cassandra yielded. “Fine. But I’m heading up first in case there’s a trap. I’ll be best equipped to deal with it.” 

“Is there even a staircase in here?” Eugene asked.

And as if on cue, a dim blue light shone from just a room over, illuminating the top of a staircase. Rocks had invaded the upstairs, and as Rapunzel stepped closer and closer, they flowered brighter and brighter.


	7. The Trials Begin

Varian bounced down the hallway. His hands were shackled, but he barely felt the weight as he was escorted by Stan and Pete out of the dungeons. From on his shoulders, Rudiger chittered away, making happy raccoon noises and trying to find solid footing as Varian bobbed up and down. Varian kept going too fast towards the exit and being called back by the cards, but not even some light admonishing could curb his enthusiasm. 

“Because, as you know, Pete, you can’t just separate those two components of that particular compounds without a source of heat,” Varian rambled on, “ and I haven’t tried setting the rocks on fire yet, so that could be a new experiment!” 

Pete stopped suddenly to unlock the door, and Varian banged into him. Despite the trouble Varian had caused, Pete couldn’t help be at least a tad bit enthused by the kid’s excitement. Smothering a grin as he unlocked the door, Pete asked, “Are you sure lighting something on fire is a good idea? The queen might’ve gotten you permission to watch some of the tests yourself, but I’m not sure how well fire would go.” 

Varian scoffed, dismissing such a silly concern as fire safety. “It’ll be fine. I know what I’m doing, and she knows that.” He pauses. “But I’d have to keep heat away from the results, because sometimes components of non flammable compounds can be incredibly flammable. Like water!” 

“Water is flammable? I’ve been putting out fires wrong my whole life,” Pete joked back. He knew that the queen was waiting nearby, so he kept a lookout. The dungeon was perhaps recklessly close to the castle, as established in the first chapter, so they didn’t have a long way to walk, but Pete didn’t want to look like he was treating this transportation mission with anything but the utmost severity by humoring a prisoner. 

Varian didn’t seem to notice the wariness. “Well, water is still good for fires; its components are flammable. So if you just take apart water-” 

“How do you take apart water?” Queen Arianna asked. She’d appeared some time while neither Varian nor Pete was watching, more or less sneaking up on the conversation. Stan had seen her, sure, but he didn’t have as many concerns about interacting with Varian. (Stan looked at him, saw the raccoon, and decided not to care about the propriety of the situation. It was weird enough already.)

After a bit of stammering, Pete stood to attention. “Your Highness! We were just on our way.” 

“I’m glad. I just came to walk with you a bit.” Arianna smiled, and then she turned to Varian. “So?” 

“Oh, with some kind of current! But I don’t think water is going to help with the experiments today.” Varian paused. “That is what’s happening, right? I’m not about to be executed?” 

Arianna nodded. “We might not get to actual trials today, but that’s certainly why we’re meeting. You’re not going to be executed, Varian.” 

Varian scoffed, but he still seemed to be in good spirits. “You say that now.”

“You’ve already attempted regicide.”

“I’m sure I could think of something worse,” Varian said, but without any of the malice he might’ve held a few months ago. 

Still, Arianna quirked an eyebrow. “I think you’ll be a bit preoccupied with science experiments.”

“Oh, don’t worry, right now all I’m thinking of is explosions.” Varian stopped. “That sounds really ominous, I-I-I was just thinking about the water and gaseous explosions again and if the rock is volatile, you know? What happens if we hit one of them with a really powerful magnifying glass? I mean the-” he stopped again, took a breath, and said, “Explosions.” 

Arianna just looked at him and shook her head kindly. It wasn’t patronizing, nor was it approval, just sort of a silly fondness at the rambling, and she didn’t feel all too guilty anymore at how happy she was about Varian perking up.

Then she turned to address Pete and Stan. “Xavier is waiting by the marked willow. Will you accompany me there?” The two guards nodded, and together, they all began their walk. 

At this time, everyone but Varian seemed settled. Sure, at first, everything was hunkydory, and Varian was just enjoying being outside (not a lot of sunlight came through the windows. Not even after he attempt to create a mirror like contraption out of some screws, a plate, and a glass of water), but as they walked further and further away from the bridge to Old Corona, concern grew in his heart. When were they going to get the horses? Was something the matter? Could he even ride a horse in handcuffs? 

Arianna seemed to notice his worrying. “We’re not going to Old Corona.” 

“Ah, that’s- that’s not concerning at all,” Varian mumbled. 

“The rocks have gotten closer.” For the first time in this conversation, Arianna sounded serious, dire. She locked eyes with Varian. “I thought it’d be better for us to take a shorter trip. Besides, if we go back to Old Corona, your father…” She didn’t want to finish her thought. 

Varian finished it for her. “He’s still there.” With a resigned sigh, Varian looked away and ahead towards the path. “But we- I’ll find a way to save him.” 

“We’ll find a way,” Arianna echoed. 

Soon enough the group came up to a cottage maybe a mile from the castle. Through the window, Varian could see Xavier waiting and messing with some papers on a table, and pierced through the wall beside him was a moon rock. That was… much closer than Varian had expected. He was surprised Xavier seemed so calm near them; Quirin had made it seem as though the the mere presence of the rocks struck fear into everyone but Varian. 

Arianna was the first one inside. She unlocked the door with a key from some pocket on the robe, and as everyone else filed in she greeted Xavier. 

The layout of the cottage was relatively plain. Varian guessed it probably was some kind of elaborate storehouse before being converted to a makeshift lab. All along the walls, new shelves bore chemicals and various minerals, and on a table Varian couldn’t have seen through the window was an array of test tubes, beakers, and other alchemical equipment. 

By the time Varian turned to look at Xavier, he and the Queen were done talking, so he didn’t feel bad about loudly stammering out, “I- we- we get to use this?” 

Arianna nodded. “If we didn’t have the equipment necessary for the trials you’ve thought of, it wouldn’t be much good bringing you out here.” She paused. “Other than the sunlight and exercise, of course. That’s very good for you and your health.” 

Snorting quietly at the thought of Queen Arianna fussing over his health, Varian replied, “Do I get to use them or just watch?”

“You’ll just watch for now,” Xavier interjected. Then, he looked to Arianna and added, “But maybe if this continues without solution for awhile, and you can behave, you’ll be able to get hands on with the tests yourself.”

Varian nodded. “I take it Pete and Stan are staying?” 

Arianna nodded, smile fading.

A brief silence fell, the first chill moment in awhile as everyone remembered exactly how dangerous Varian could be if he wanted. Pete and Stan in particular, stood still as rocks, though whether that was from training or awkwardness could be anyone’s guess. 

It was probably the awkwardness. 

When the silence was finally broken, it was Varian who spoke. “Can I suggest a first idea or have you already chosen from the ones I’ve been ranting off for the past week?” 

Arianna’s smile returned, and she said, “You’re choosing, but I maintain the power to veto. The guards have kept me updated on your running list, and there are some… interesting ones.”

Grinning madly, Varian said, “Alright, I say we should try to use heated cooking oil to-” 

“Melt it,” Arianna finished. “One of cooks told me you’re more likely to fry your hand than actually get it onto the rock.” She looked at him sympathetically, but with a bit of amusement. “Vetoed.” 

“Oh, well, what about-”

Arianna interrupted again. “Your next suggestion is going to be the one you know explodes, isn’t it. Flynnolium?” 

Varian’s grin turned sheepish. 

They continued like this for awhile, eventually settling on a relatively simple test that they were both certain would not blow up themselves, the cottage, and the surrounding area (and Varian was a bit baffled at the concern for safety). Xavier and Arianna ran the first test as Varian made comments and criticisms from the side, but all in all it worked very well. 

For the next few hours into the afternoon, the three continued to work as Stan and Pete stood guard. The process only stopped when Arianna turned to ask a question (“Varian, did you expect this to turn purple?”) and found the boy fast asleep, head lying on the table. 

There were a few moments of calm, peaceful silence, as Ariann walked over to him. She extended her hand towards him, almost intending to wake him up, but withdrew. 

“We should let him sleep,” she said. “For at least a bit.”

Pete spoke for the first time in awhile, asking, “Are we gonna take him back to his cell now?” 

And Queen Arianna shook her head. “No, no, “ she said. “I’d rather he be awake when he goes back.” She didn’t want him to think he’d dreamt all this, though she’d never say that out loud. 

Taking Rudiger from his back and setting the racoon on the table, Arianna took off her cloak and draped it over Varian like a blanket. Then, she walked back over to Xavier and said, “Meanwhile, Xavier, can we run through a few of his other proposals? I’d like to be forewarned in case I have to stop us from exploding.”

Xavier chuckled and began reading from his notes.


End file.
